Kite approved for Olympics instead of Windsurf?

rgugli · 10th May 2011, 03:09 PM

http://www.sailing.org/35891.php
can someone confirm if its finally decided that Kite will replace Windsurfing in Olympics?
i think the minutes of this meeting is not clear as says board or Kite
does not say wnidsurf or kite
or
rsx or kite

thanks for your confirmation
Ricardo

Sailboarder · 10th May 2011, 07:37 PM

They did not choose. The question is still open.

However, they removed keel boats and added a catamaran class.

nakaniko · 11th May 2011, 05:09 PM

And/or means pheraphs both.
Horrible news anyway.
Imho other sailing classes have far less appeal than windsurfing. and a lot of olympic sports have far less athletes (javelin? f.e.)
I'm gonna hate forever kite if it will replace windsurfing in olimpyc games.
Imho until now there are NOT more kiters than windsurfers
Question is: what we can do to support windsurf in the decision?

Ken · 11th May 2011, 09:15 PM

I will be very surprised of they choose kites. Those designed for upwind/downwind racing are in the same boat as formula boards, which means that in winds below 8 knots, it's almost impossible to achieve much if any upwind performance.

Formula boards can plane in 6 knots if you have a 12.5m sail and pump your brains out, but upwind performance is essentially not there. I don't know the planing threshold for kites, but I doubt it's any better then the formula boards. If the kites get stuck in dying winds, someone has to bring them in or they can body drag in for an hour if there is enough wind to keep the kite in the air.

Too many issue with launching, light winds, beach space, courses way off shore, etc. to go with kites in my opinion.

nakaniko · 11th May 2011, 09:54 PM

Right, I forgot that Olympic Games require sports that can be done almost everywhere and everytime, this is the reason they didn't choose formula for windsurf, they told me.
So it will be really surprising if they will admit a sport that if a place has always wind lower than 8 knots the result will be an absolute no contest.

13th May 2011, 02:42 AM

Olympic windsurfing has nothing to do with sport 99% of us are involved with. It will make no difference at all to the sport. Dont see F1 or MotoGP in Olympics. Let kiters go ! They`re welcome to it.

Philip · 13th May 2011, 08:35 AM

This WS v KS thing is parasitic. Both relatively new sports and compared with many sailing classes minimalist in relation to equipment intensity and affordability. If KS is to get a Olympic berth (and it should) this ought to be on the basis of the whole mix of classes rather than an 'either or' WS.

13th May 2011, 12:08 PM

The Olympics is a crimnal terrible waste of money, costing the host $20 billion and getting back $10 bill.
Send it back to Greece wehre it belongs and then we can have the Wind & Kite medals in Karpathos with
35 knot offshore winds.

15th May 2011, 11:47 PM

The whole sailing thing in Olympics (if not the whole Dinghy world) is flawed. Loads of rules regs about boat sizes;sail sizes; strict enforcement of design rules but not a single attempt to standardise /equalise sailor weights. How can two sailors of vast different weights hope to compete equally ???? Its a farce !

At least we`ve now reached a place in real world WS where sailors of vast different weights can sail together on more or less equal terms .

16th May 2011, 01:57 PM

There have been several attempts to equalise sailor weight in the boat world. The Laser 5000, Laser 4000, and the 49er all had weight equalisation. I think the EPS, Boss, ISO and Buzz also had weight equalisation.

If you hadn't heard of those classes (apart from the 49er which has given up on weight equalisation) it's partly because the weight equalisation concept has major issues. Other classes try other forms of weight equalisation but apart from simply imposing limits, only a couple have been successful.

Only one class of windsurfer has made a major attempt to get over weight issues and while that is a great class, some people feel the equalisation itself also creates some problems. It's not a simple choice.

10th May 2011, 03:09 PM	#1
rgugli Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 100	Kite approved for Olympics instead of Windsurf? http://www.sailing.org/35891.php can someone confirm if its finally decided that Kite will replace Windsurfing in Olympics? i think the minutes of this meeting is not clear as says board or Kite does not say wnidsurf or kite or rsx or kite thanks for your confirmation Ricardo

11th May 2011, 05:09 PM	#3
nakaniko Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Venezia, Italia Posts: 133	And/or means pheraphs both. Horrible news anyway. Imho other sailing classes have far less appeal than windsurfing. and a lot of olympic sports have far less athletes (javelin? f.e.) I'm gonna hate forever kite if it will replace windsurfing in olimpyc games. Imho until now there are NOT more kiters than windsurfers Question is: what we can do to support windsurf in the decision? Last edited by nakaniko; 11th May 2011 at 05:38 PM.

11th May 2011, 09:15 PM	#4
Ken Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Dallas, Texas USA Posts: 799	I will be very surprised of they choose kites. Those designed for upwind/downwind racing are in the same boat as formula boards, which means that in winds below 8 knots, it's almost impossible to achieve much if any upwind performance. Formula boards can plane in 6 knots if you have a 12.5m sail and pump your brains out, but upwind performance is essentially not there. I don't know the planing threshold for kites, but I doubt it's any better then the formula boards. If the kites get stuck in dying winds, someone has to bring them in or they can body drag in for an hour if there is enough wind to keep the kite in the air. Too many issue with launching, light winds, beach space, courses way off shore, etc. to go with kites in my opinion. __________________ Toys: Formula 160; iSonic 111; HiFly Move 105; Tiga 263; '85 Mistral Superlight. Maui Sails TR 11.0; 9.2; 8.4; 7.6; 6.6; Maui Sails Switch 6.0; 5.2; Maui Sails Global 4.5; 4.0.

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10th May 2011, 07:37 PM	#2
Sailboarder Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 76	They did not choose. The question is still open. However, they removed keel boats and added a catamaran class.

11th May 2011, 09:54 PM	#5
nakaniko Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Venezia, Italia Posts: 133	Right, I forgot that Olympic Games require sports that can be done almost everywhere and everytime, this is the reason they didn't choose formula for windsurf, they told me. So it will be really surprising if they will admit a sport that if a place has always wind lower than 8 knots the result will be an absolute no contest.

13th May 2011, 02:42 AM	#6
Unregistered Guest Posts: n/a	Olympic windsurfing has nothing to do with sport 99% of us are involved with. It will make no difference at all to the sport. Dont see F1 or MotoGP in Olympics. Let kiters go ! They`re welcome to it.

13th May 2011, 08:35 AM	#7
Philip Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 157	This WS v KS thing is parasitic. Both relatively new sports and compared with many sailing classes minimalist in relation to equipment intensity and affordability. If KS is to get a Olympic berth (and it should) this ought to be on the basis of the whole mix of classes rather than an 'either or' WS.

13th May 2011, 12:08 PM	#8
Unregistered Guest Posts: n/a	The Olympics is a crimnal terrible waste of money, costing the host $20 billion and getting back $10 bill. Send it back to Greece wehre it belongs and then we can have the Wind & Kite medals in Karpathos with 35 knot offshore winds.

15th May 2011, 11:47 PM	#9
Unregistered Guest Posts: n/a	The whole sailing thing in Olympics (if not the whole Dinghy world) is flawed. Loads of rules regs about boat sizes;sail sizes; strict enforcement of design rules but not a single attempt to standardise /equalise sailor weights. How can two sailors of vast different weights hope to compete equally ???? Its a farce ! At least we`ve now reached a place in real world WS where sailors of vast different weights can sail together on more or less equal terms .

16th May 2011, 01:57 PM	#10
Unregistered Guest Posts: n/a	There have been several attempts to equalise sailor weight in the boat world. The Laser 5000, Laser 4000, and the 49er all had weight equalisation. I think the EPS, Boss, ISO and Buzz also had weight equalisation. If you hadn't heard of those classes (apart from the 49er which has given up on weight equalisation) it's partly because the weight equalisation concept has major issues. Other classes try other forms of weight equalisation but apart from simply imposing limits, only a couple have been successful. Only one class of windsurfer has made a major attempt to get over weight issues and while that is a great class, some people feel the equalisation itself also creates some problems. It's not a simple choice.